Wednesday Wanderlust

10 Culture Tips from our Newest Releases

All the following 10 cultural tips are taken straight from our five newest guides released this May. The titles include: Colombia, Denmark, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka:

1. Sri Lankan’s are more relaxed about missed opportunities than Westerners because of their strong belief in karma. It is thought that if something does not work out then it was not meant to be, and that it will come around at a more opportune time, with more success.
2. To beckon someone toward them, a Sri Lankan will hold one arm outstretched and, with the palm facing down, move the fingers inward. It is considered impolite to point at someone using the index finger, so gestures of moving the head or raising the eyebrows in the direction of the subject are commonly used.

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Wednesday Wanderlust

Greetings in Eastern Europe

Wednesday Wanderlust is back! In these posts we shall be sharing information on the etiquette, values and attitudes of different countries around the world.

This week’s post focuses friendship, manners and greetings in Eastern Europe and highlights the relevant cultural norms for Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Russia and Romania. Traditional versus contemporary greetings divide the older and younger generations within these countries, with similar norms being visible across the region.

1.      Hungary

Good manners begin with a greeting. Stand up! Only the old and frail stay seated for greetings. Like other Eastern European countries, the practise in Hungary is for a man to make the first greeting to a woman, a younger person to an older, a subordinate to a superior, a salesperson to a customer, and someone entering or approaching those already present. It’s bad manners not to greet people, and worse not to return a greeting. As Hungarian writer István Mácz says, “the reply to a smile, is a smile”.

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To accompany our new releases we’re returning to our Behind the Pen series of interviews with the authors of Culture Smart!. In the series we take a closer look at who our authors are, how they became conversant in a culture they were not born into, and what they’ve gained from their cultural experiences abroad.
Meet Kate Cathey – a writer and anthropologist. Born in the USA, she attended Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where she studied Art History, and later the University of California, from which she graduated with a BA in World Arts and Cultures, concentration in Anthropology. Since then, she has traveled extensively in Latin America, researching and writing about regional cultural and culinary traditions.

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Singapore is home to three of Asia’s great cultures— Chinese, Malay, and Indian—and, although they each have their own distinct norms, values, and religions, many of these are held in common. When visiting a Singaporean at home, it is vital to identify and understand the cultural heritage of your host so that you can act appropriately. Here are three major aspects to consider when invited to visit a Singaporean in their home:

Etiquette

It is a privilege to be invited to a Singaporean home, but it is easy to cause offense inadvertently. In all three communities (and among many Westerners too) it is customary to remove your shoes when entering the home (so wear socks or tights).

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By Justine Pineau

Canuck (/kəˈnʌk/): an affectionate or friendly slang term describing a person of Canadian nationality.

My life in Scotland began this past September, when I arrived to begin my MSc Publishing course at Edinburgh Napier University. In most cases, international students are encouraged to arrive early enough to take part in what’s called ‘Induction Week’ where they get to mingle with other students from abroad, connect with their programme directors and fellow cohorts, and learn more about the country they’ve just moved to.

However, I was unable to attend this culture-shock-transition-week due to a close friend’s wedding. In 48 hours, I went from being a bridesmaid, to flying over the Atlantic, to taking notes in my first lecture of postgraduate school. Suffice to say that the rest of September was a very busy, very exciting blur.

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